What are the new Saudi “distinctive residencies” and the conditions for obtaining them?
Saudi Arabia announced the launch of 5 new categories of distinguished residences with the aim of increasing the attraction of exceptional talent, including executives, talents, investors, entrepreneurs and real estate owners.
The premium residency permit enables its holder to grant residency to his family members, engage in commercial business, be exempt from financial fees for expatriates and their companions, move to and from the Kingdom without a visa, own real estate, easily move between establishments without fees, and host and invite relatives.
Saudi Arabia approved the premium residency system about 5 years ago, and the premium residency center provided only two categories of it: permanent residency with a total value of 800,000 riyals ($213,000), and another for one year, renewable for 100,000 ($26,000).
However, today, the Center announced five new categories of premium residency, and specified the conditions for granting them, bringing the number of premium residency products to 7 categories: exceptional competence, talent, business investor, entrepreneur, and property owner, in addition to the previous two categories (one-year, renewable residency). and others of indefinite duration).
The introduction of the new categories is an implementation of the goal of attracting the competencies required to accelerate the achievement of the desired economic growth rate, which was among the goals of the “Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”
The flow of foreign direct investment into the Kingdom has witnessed continuous growth in the past six years, jumping from 27 billion riyals in 2017 to 122 billion riyals last year. This program is expected to give impetus to Saudi Arabia’s goal of increasing the contribution of foreign direct investment to the gross domestic product from 3.8% to 5.7%.
Establish exceptional efficiency
The Center has developed two paths to establish exceptional competence:
- The path for health and scientific competencies and researchers, in which the total monthly wage is required to not be less than 35 thousand riyals for health and scientific competencies, and 14 thousand riyals for researchers. This path requires the presence of an employment contract in accredited agencies with a priority specialty, obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher, work experience of more than 3 years in a related field of specialization, and also a letter of recommendation from the employer.
- The executive track requires an employment contract in a leadership position in one of the approved entities, provided that the total monthly wage is not less than 80 thousand riyals, in addition to a letter of recommendation from the employer.
The duration of residency for this category is limited to five years upon issuance, and upon renewal, the beneficiary is granted the same period while continuing to meet the eligibility criteria, or permanent residency if residing for 30 months during the period.
Talent establishment
As for establishing a talent, the first track requires nomination or obtaining one of the specific exceptional awards, while the second track requires meeting the minimum list of eligibility criteria approved by the Ministry of Sports or the Ministry of Culture, depending on the field.
In this category, it is required to pass the minimum level of financial solvency (to ensure that the costs of living in the Kingdom are borne), and to obtain a recommendation from the Ministry of Sports or the Ministry of Culture, depending on the applicant’s field.
As for the duration of residence for this type, it is limited upon issuance to five years, and upon renewal the beneficiary is granted the same period while continuing to meet the eligibility criteria and a residence period of 30 months during the five years, whether continuous or not.
As for permanent residency, it requires continuing to meet the product eligibility criteria, a 30-month residency period within 5 consecutive or non-consecutive years, and obtaining a recommendation from the Ministry of Sports or the Ministry of Culture.
Business investor residency
Regarding the residency of a business investor, the criteria are to issue investment licenses, submit the commercial register and articles of incorporation, as well as invest a minimum of 7 million riyals in economic activities in the Kingdom, in accordance with the investment system. This category obtains permanent residency directly, conditional on investing 7 million riyals and creating 10 jobs during the first two years of work.
Entrepreneur residence
The eligibility criteria for an entrepreneur’s residency were divided into two categories: The first requires obtaining an investment round/s from one of the entities approved by the Distinguished Residence Center with a value of no less than 400 thousand riyals, and the duration of the residency is limited to five years, renewable once upon continuing to meet the eligibility criteria. Residency is for 30 months within 5 years.
As for the other category, it requires obtaining a round(s) of no less than 15 million riyals, and that the applicant’s share in the startup company must not be less than 10 percent. This category is characterized by direct permanent residency, conditional on the creation of at least 10 jobs in the first year and 10 jobs in the second year.
Among the requirements imposed on these two categories is obtaining an entrepreneurial license from the Ministry of Investment, and a letter of recommendation from the investing party.
The entrepreneur can nominate two people from the work team to directly obtain exceptional competence residency, and exemption in the first 3 operational years from “Nitaqat”, which is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to evaluate the extent of localization of establishments in the labor market.
Residence of a property owner
The residency criteria for the property owner are to own or benefit from real estate assets with a value of no less than 4 million riyals in Saudi Arabia, that the property must not be mortgaged or mortgaged afterwards, and that the property must not have been owned or used through real estate financing.
Among the criteria is that the type of property must be residential only, existing and not from developed or undeveloped lands, in addition to an approved assessment of the value of the asset issued by certified evaluators, provided that the duration of residence is linked to owning or using the property.
One year residence
Residency for one year, renewable, requires meeting a minimum level of financial solvency, with a financial compensation of 100 thousand riyals annually.
Permanent residence
Regarding indefinite residency, the minimum financial solvency must also be met, amounting to 800 thousand riyals, paid only once.
Application requirements
General application requirements for all categories included the presence of a valid passport, passing a medical examination, and regular residency (for residents of the Kingdom), in addition to paying a financial fee specified for all types of residency of 4,000 riyals, paid one time only, except for one-year residency and the others are not specified. Duration.
Supporting the goals of “Vision 2030”
The new premium residence categories come within the framework of implementing one of the objectives of “Vision 2030”, which is “creating an attractive environment in which we can invest our human competencies and attract the best minds in the world to live on our land, and provide all the capabilities that they may need, in a way that contributes to advancing the development of… Development and attracting more investments.
The vision announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 promised to “create an attractive environment for the required competencies by facilitating livelihoods and work,” with steps including “adopting an effective and facilitating system for issuing visas and residence permits.”
Last year, the Saudi census revealed that the number of foreigners residing in the Kingdom amounted to about 13.38 million people, or 41.6 percent of the total population of 32.2 million people.
2024-01-10 13:39:03
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